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New Amtrak Guest Rewards MasterCard arriving Fall 2015

Old Sep 13, 2015, 8:16 am
FlyerTalk Forums Expert How-Tos and Guides
Last edit by: beltway
Beginning September 12, 2015, two new Amtrak-branded credit cards are available through Bank of America:
  • World MasterCard (20K pts for $1K spend in 3 months; $79 AF, not waived)
  • Platinum MasterCard (12K pts for $1K spend in 3 months; no AF)


Both cards offer the following benefits:
  • Earn 1 AGR point for non-Amtrak purchases
  • Earn a bonus for Amtrak ticket and on-board purchases
    • World MC earns a total of 3 AGR pts/$
    • Platinum MC earns 2 AGR pts/$
  • Receive a 5% points rebate on award redemptions for Amtrak travel
  • No forex fee on purchases outside the US
  • Your AGR points will never expire as long as you hold either card


The World MasterCard offers these additional benefits:
  • Earn 2 AGR pts/$ on non-Amtrak travel purchases
    • Per the T&C, this includes airlines, car rental agencies, hotels, motels, inns, resorts, and steamship/cruise lines. In cases where the merchant of record is not Amtrak, this 2pts/$ category also includes travel agencies, passenger railways, and commuter railways. (The last two were originally excluded, but are included as of 2021 or possibly earlier.)
  • Earn 1,000 TQPs for every $5,000 in eligible purchases, up to 4,000 TQPs in any calendar year
    • Purchases are credited for the year of the statement on which they are billed. For an account that closes on the 20th of each month, purchases after Dec. 20 will count in the following year.
  • On account opening, receive a single-day pass for access to ClubAcela, Amtrak Metropolitan Lounge or First class lounges
    • Per T&C, "ClubAcela pass valid for bearer and one guest, or bearer's spouse/domestic partner and children under the age of 21. No same-day ticket required for use."
  • On account opening and at each anniversary renewal, receive a Companion Coupon and One-Class Upgrade
    • "Companion Coupon valid for one (1) free companion rail fare with the purchase of one (1) regular (full) adult rail fare. Free companion and paying passenger must reserve at the same time and travel together at all times. Valid for travel as one (1) one-way or one (1) roundtrip on one reservation per coupon. For roundtrip usage, both directions of travel must be reserved at the same time. Travel blackout dates apply."
      • Blackout dates for 2016: Jan. 2-3; Feb. 12; Feb. 15; Mar. 24-25; Mar. 28; May 27; May 30; Jul. 1; Jul. 4; Sept. 2; Sept. 5; Oct. 10; Nov. 22-23; Nov. 26-28; Dec. 21-24; Dec. 26-30.
      • Blackout dates for 2017: Jan. 1-2; Feb. 17; Feb. 20; Apr. 13-14; Apr. 17; May 26; May 29; Sept. 1; Sept. 4; Oct. 9; Nov. 21-22; Nov. 24-27; [other dates TBD].
      "Regular (full) adult rail fare" excludes Senior/AAA/etc. discount fares. AGR Insider has asserted at one time that "full fare" includes Saver & other unrestricted fares, but two separate FTer reports indicate that Saver fares are in fact excluded.
    • "One-Class Upgrade Coupon valid for one (1) space-available, one-way, one-class upgrade. Valid only from Coach to Business class, or from Acela Business class to Acela First class, on a single travel segment or leg. Not valid for upgrade to sleeping car accommodations. Travel blackout dates apply."


If my application is not instantly approved, is there a special contact number for Bank of America?
Try calling 888-221-6262 or 866-811-4108. (M-F 8am-7pm EST)

When will I receive my World MC Companion Coupon/Upgrade Coupon/ClubAcela Pass?
"Companion Coupon and One-Class Upgrade Coupon are available online through your Amtrak Guest Rewards account. Your ClubAcela pass will be mailed to you within 2 weeks of account opening."

How soon will my AGR points post after I complete the required spend?
Bank of America transfers your signup bonus points to Amtrak a day or two after the end of the monthly billing cycle in which you complete the required spend.

Are these cards churnable?
TBD

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New Amtrak Guest Rewards MasterCard arriving Fall 2015

Old Aug 3, 2017, 1:18 pm
  #421  
 
Join Date: Dec 2003
Location: Washington, DC
Programs: Hyatt Globalist, AA Executive Platinum
Posts: 1,926
Originally Posted by Amfortas
Hello everyone, I'm considering getting the Guest Rewards World MasterCard and wanted to make sure that I understand everything correctly and that it would be the best choice for my situation. I have some questions and would appreciate any input that anyone could offer on them.

Brief background, I'm going to be a grad student making frequent trips between NYP and BAL (along with my girlfriend). I would guess that we'll take 30 Amtrak trips per year.

First question: for the $1,000 you have to spend to unlock the offer - obviously it's best to spend this on Amtrak travel to get the most points, but it's also impossible for us to accurately plan our dates of travel this far in advance. Is there a way to make this work? Would a $1000 Amtrak gift card count towards the 3x points or is there some other way to get the credit and points?
I'm not sure about the gift card, but if not I think you could back door it by booking $1000+ worth of tickets (two round trip first class acela tickets from WAS->NYP should cover it), then cancelling and taking your refund as an eVoucher. eVouchers expire one year from issuance, so you'll want to make sure you can use it up in time.
Secondly, it's 5x points for Amtrak travel right? 3x for the card and an extra 2x for guest rewards normally?
Yes, you'll earn 5x total.
Lastly, the money spent on saver and student discount tickets counts towards earning points yes? I know you can't *redeem* points for these tickets, but we'll be buying saver and student discount tickets as much as possible so I wanted to be sure these tickets will still give full points.
Yes, you'll get full value.
Unfortunately on the BoA and Amtrak websites the offer seems to now be 20,000 points not 30,000, but even then it seems like for someone in my position it is a good decision to get this card. I'd appreciate any thoughts. Thanks!
The link posted by Comenius is showing 30K for me. If it doesn't show 30K for you, try opening it in a private window or another browser.
murphy is offline  
Old Sep 11, 2017, 1:22 pm
  #422  
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: NYC
Programs: DL Platinum, AA Plat Pro, Bonvoy Lifetime Platinum, JetBlue Mosaic 3, Amtrak Select
Posts: 964
How long does it take for bonus TQPs to post?
uppereastsider is offline  
Old Sep 11, 2017, 1:45 pm
  #423  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: PSC
Programs: Hilton Diamond/IHG Platinum/DL Plutononium
Posts: 1,728
They posted pretty quickly and without effort for me.
hi55us is offline  
Old Sep 11, 2017, 1:57 pm
  #424  
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: NYC
Programs: DL Platinum, AA Plat Pro, Bonvoy Lifetime Platinum, JetBlue Mosaic 3, Amtrak Select
Posts: 964
Originally Posted by hi55us
They posted pretty quickly and without effort for me.
Thanks! Was it right after the statement close? Does it appear on your AGR account under transactions?

I the spend limit in July right before the statement closed. The the August statement has come and I still haven't received them. Unsure if I should contact BOA first or AGR
uppereastsider is offline  
Old Sep 11, 2017, 7:14 pm
  #425  
 
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: PSC
Programs: Hilton Diamond/IHG Platinum/DL Plutononium
Posts: 1,728
I got the 1,000 point boost on 6/8 on my AGR account and my statement closed actually on the 9th, looks like I hit the $5k spend just as the statement closed. I would contact BofA - I've had good luck with their customer service and Amtrak reps would likely no nothing about it since it's a perk of the credit card.
hi55us is offline  
Old Sep 12, 2017, 8:42 am
  #426  
 
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: NYC
Programs: Amtrak Select Plus, Marriott Platinum, Marriott Lifetime Gold, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 3,123
Mine posted like clockwork in the beginning (sometimes same day as statement). However, this year I've had to contact them twice, because the TQP didn't post at all.
vatraveler is offline  
Old Sep 13, 2017, 4:59 pm
  #427  
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: NYC
Programs: DL Platinum, AA Plat Pro, Bonvoy Lifetime Platinum, JetBlue Mosaic 3, Amtrak Select
Posts: 964
I was just about to contact them, but today they posted on my account, while the transaction history says they posted on 8/1 (which was the day I crossed 5k in spending for this year on the card)

Pretty excited. This puts me 561 TQPs away from Select Executive, which I've never had. I normally miss it by ~3-4k TQPs, but the double your TQP promotion provided me almost 3k and got me to this level.
uppereastsider is offline  
Old Sep 16, 2017, 9:20 pm
  #428  
 
Join Date: Aug 2015
Posts: 309
Originally Posted by uppereastsider
I was just about to contact them, but today they posted on my account, while the transaction history says they posted on 8/1 (which was the day I crossed 5k in spending for this year on the card)

Pretty excited. This puts me 561 TQPs away from Select Executive, which I've never had. I normally miss it by ~3-4k TQPs, but the double your TQP promotion provided me almost 3k and got me to this level.
Same for me. I was about to call and see why they had not posted when they showed up this week with a date of 8/1. Weird.

I really wish I had gotten the double TQP promotion. I'll still make Plus but it will be down to the wire. Just frustrating that it's not given to everyone.
musicalbox is offline  
Old Oct 21, 2017, 11:36 am
  #429  
 
Join Date: Jul 2004
Location: PDX
Programs: DL DM, AS MVP 100K, Amtrak peon, Colbert Lifetime Platinum
Posts: 4,534
For those wondering, the 30K World offer is still live; I was just approved the other day. The good news is, there was no hard pull on my credit. Instead, BofA simply moved part of a big, existing line from one of my other four CC accounts without my consent. A lengthy call to their underwriting department remedied that, allowing me to move some of it back. Just a heads-up.

Another factor to keep in mind is BofA's new 2/3/4 rule. Not as bad as Chase's 5/24 but still a potential restriction for some.
GoAmtrak is offline  
Old Oct 29, 2017, 8:00 am
  #430  
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Posts: 31
How long does one have to wait before getting another bonus?

For example, I had the AGR Card last year but cancelled it. If I signed up for the card again, would I still get 12k signup bonus points?
Batavian is offline  
Old Oct 30, 2017, 8:00 am
  #431  
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: SEA
Programs: Alaska MVP Gold
Posts: 539
Originally Posted by Batavian
How long does one have to wait before getting another bonus?

For example, I had the AGR Card last year but cancelled it. If I signed up for the card again, would I still get 12k signup bonus points?
Yep! I cancelled my first BofA Amtrak card last may and signed up for the same card again 1 month later and got the bonus again.
mpeterson78 is offline  
Old Oct 30, 2017, 9:54 am
  #432  
 
Join Date: May 2015
Location: Philly suburbs
Programs: Amtrak Guest Rewards, BOA Travel Visa,
Posts: 56
Nice to know

But they are hard pulls on your credit file, not sure the points are worth the hit on your credit score. I would space the application further apart

Last edited by discocoaster; Oct 30, 2017 at 9:55 am Reason: Spelling
discocoaster is offline  
Old Nov 11, 2017, 11:19 pm
  #433  
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Posts: 1,051
Can the upgrade cert be used for AAA fare?

Also, does the cert work if I use points for the reservation?
Rommie2k6 is offline  
Old Nov 12, 2017, 4:32 am
  #434  
 
Join Date: Dec 2014
Posts: 86
Originally Posted by Rommie2k6
Can the upgrade cert be used for AAA fare?

Also, does the cert work if I use points for the reservation?
No and no.

EDIT: As Rare points out below, the correct answer is "Yes and no."

Last edited by DoB840; Nov 12, 2017 at 9:26 am
DoB840 is offline  
Old Nov 12, 2017, 8:43 am
  #435  
 
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: SW Michigan, ex SF Bay Area
Posts: 820
Originally Posted by Rommie2k6
Can the upgrade cert be used for AAA fare?
Yes.

Originally Posted by Rommie2k6
Also, does the cert work if I use points for the reservation?
No.

https://www.amtrakguestrewards.com/vouchers/show

Coupon Restrictions:
  • Coupon valid for one (1) space-available, one-way, one-class upgrade. Valid only from Coach to Business class, or from Acela Business class to Acela First class, on a single travel segment or leg.
  • Not valid for upgrade to sleeping car accommodations.
  • Subject to availability; upgrade not available on all trains at all times.
  • Upgrade may be combined with corporate, AAA, disability, NARP, military, student, and senior discounts but is not combinable with any other discount or Amtrak Guest Rewards® redemption travel.
  • Travel blackouts apply: Nov. 21-22, 2017; Nov. 25-27, 2017; Dec. 22-24, 2017; Dec. 29-31, 2017; Jan. 2, 2018; Feb. 16, 2018; Feb. 19, 2018; Mar. 30, 2018; Apr. 2, 2018; May 25, 2018; Aug. 31, 2018; Sep. 3, 2018; Nov. 20-21, 2018; Nov. 24-26, 2018; Dec. 21-23, 2018; Dec. 26-30, 2018
  • Offer is not valid on the following services: Adirondack®, California Zephyr®, Capitol Limited®, City of New Orleans®, Empire Builder®, Keystone Service®, Silver Meteor®, Silver Star®, Southwest Chief®, Sunset Limited®, Texas Eagle® and train/Thruway series 7000 – 8999.
  • The eCoupon# is unique to your coupon and valid for one use only. Buying or selling this coupon is prohibited and will invalidate the coupon. Coupon may be transferred to a family member or friend.
  • Other restrictions may apply.
Rare is offline  

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